Vegan Brown Rice Congee with Jackfruit and Mushrooms
Warm, savory, and smooth- comforting, soothing, simple ingredients with a complex flavor. This vegan brown rice congee is a savory porridge made from brown rice, a lot of water, and seasoned with ginger and seaweed. Topped with a mix of jackfruit and mushrooms, this vegan congee recipe is the perfect cozy lunch, hearty breakfast, or comforting fare for a troubled stomach.
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What is Congee?
Congee is a rice porridge dish, eaten across China and other parts of Asia. It is made by cooking rice in large amounts of water, until it breaks down into soupy porridge. Traditionally, it is often eaten as breakfast, or to help a sick stomach, as it’s easily digested. The version I’ve created here is more suitable for a lunch or dinner, as the umami-flavor is really highlighted with the jackfruit and mushroom topping, but would still make a great meal for breakfast. It is not completely authentic, most noticeably in it’s use of brown rice rather than white (but I like to go for the healthier option, if there isn’t much difference in the taste!) If you’re using it as sick food, and feeding someone who really can’t keep food down, you might want to omit the jackfruit mushroom topping, and stick to the simpler, bare vegan brown rice congee.
Vegan Sick Food
When I think of sick food, my mind automatically goes to chicken noodle soup– even though as an almost life-long vegetarian, I’ve never had it. Growing up, my sick food was instant ramen- the taste of those little instant noodle packages is still somewhat comforting to me (although the amount of salt makes them unpleasant to eat). I often had the experience of taking a few bites of warm, brothy noodles, and falling asleep, only to wake up next to a bowl of cold, salty, soggy noodles. That’s one of the many benefits of having this vegan brown rice congee as your sick food- it’s made by over-saturating the rice with water, so it really can’t get soggier, and just a quick zap in the microwave will get it warm and comforting again.
Looking for more Vegan Sick Food? Try one of these!
- Cold Weather Cabbage Soup with Butternut Squash and Turmeric
- Baby Bok Choy Christmas Lima Bean Soup
- Homemade Vegan Seaweed Crackers
- Lentil and Nettle Soup: Stinging Nettle Benefits & Recipe
Making Vegan Brown Rice Congee
As I’ve alluded to in the past few paragraphs, the secret to congee is lots and lots of water. To make rice normally, you use about 2 cups of water to one cup of rice, but for this rice porridge we are using seven cups of water to that same cup of rice. This causes the rice to break down and start to disintegrate, leading to a thick, porridge texture while the individual grains of rice are less apparent. Cabbage is also added, which serves to thicken the vegan brown rice congee. Miso, dulse (seaweed) and ginger give it a kick of flavor, and the whole pot is boiled for between 1-1.5 hours, until it is thick and creamy. The jackfruit and mushrooms are sauted separately and added as a topper to the porridge. Other toppings are added raw- choose your favorites, things like scallions, cilantro, sesame oil, etc. Eat the vegan brown rice congee warm, and share with friends- one cup of rice goes a long way.
Vegan Brown Rice Congee (Savory Rice Porridge) with Jackfruit and Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 1 cup brown jasmine rice
- A small piece of fresh ginger (about 10 grams)
- 1 TBPS. miso paste
- 1 TBSP. dulse flakes
- 2 TBSP. soy sauce
- 2 tightly packed cups of shredded cabbage
- 7 cups of water
- 1 small onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 4 oz button mushrooms
- 1 20 oz. can green jackfruit
- 2 TBSP. vegetable oil
- ½ tsp. chili powder
- ½ tsp. smoked paprika
- 1 TBSP. soy sauce
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Cilantro, chopped
- Green onions, chopped
- Sesame oil
- Sesame seeds
- Dulse flakes
- Sriracha, or other hot sauce
Instructions
- Rinse your rise under cool water a few times, then place into a large pot. Cut the ginger into matchsticks, and shred your cabbage and add to the pot, along with the rest of the porridge ingredients. Bring the water in the pot up to a boil, and reduce to a simmer, leaving the pot covered but with the lid cracked for about 1 hour, 15 minutes, until it is thick and most of the water is evaporated.
- While the porridge is cooking, dice the onion, mince the garlic, chop the mushrooms into small pieces, and drain the liquid from the jackfruit. Heat the oil in a medium-sized skillet, and add the garlic and onions, cooking until fragrant. Add the mushrooms, paprika, chili powder and soy sauce, and cook for a couple minutes before adding the jackfruit. Squeeze the jackfruit a little, to loosen up the larger clumps, as you add it to the skillet. Stir-fry for about 10 minutes, using your spatula to further break up the jackfruit as you cook. Set aside.
- To serve, add some porridge and jackfruit to a bowl, and choose from the toppings suggested above.
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Let’s hear from you…
- What foods make you feel better when you’re sick?
- Have you ever had a savory porridge? How about congee?
- Brown rice vs. white rice? Which is better?
Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
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